Spared
by SharpiesSmellGood
Summary: What if Shukaku hadn't originally been supposed to be in Gaara? What if it had been Gaara who was to die instead of his mother? More about Karura and Shukaku than Gaara. Rated T to be safe for blood and sadistic thoughts.


Okay, this is really more about Gaara's mother and Shukaku than Gaara. (A side note: Gaara's mom's name is Karura. And Shukaku is that big ol' demon that appeared when he was fighting Naruto in around episodes 70-ish to 80-ish. Okay?) I rated it T in case people get upset that it mentions blood and killing, along with Shukaku and his oh-so-screwed up thoughts.

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They were not in a 'room', exactly. There were no defined boundaries, no walls, or objects.

It couldn't even really be described as a 'place'.

They were just… there.

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'They' consisted of three beings.

First there was a blood soaked mother. Behind her was a small baby, also covered in blood.

The third person… well, the third person wasn't really a person at all. There was nothing remotely human about it. It was huge, especially in comparison to the tiny infant that lay only feet before it. The mind boggling thing was, that great beast was technically _inside _the child. But that might be changing soon.

No one said anything. The young blonde woman stood between her baby and the demon, offering what little protection she could. She stared up at the giant tanuki-like creature in terror, unsure of what was going on.

Her child, on the other hand, was rather content – probably because, seeing as he wasn't even born yet, he had no idea what was going on, much less what was wrong with the situation.

And the monster stood, glowering down at the small pair.

'Pitiful,' he thought in disgust. _Humans. _They were so worthless. The only thing they were at all good at was dying. Or, more specifically, being killed. Preferably by him.

He grinned sinisterly at the thought.

He began thinking about killing them both, right now. About ripping apart the woman, seeing all the blood burst out of her as he crushed her fragile body in her hand. About drowning the baby in sand… no, he changed his mind – he would kill the child first, the mother's reaction was sure to be amusing…

But then he stopped himself before he got too excited at the idea of murdering them, because he couldn't slaughter them both. After all, one of them was to be his container.

The question was, which one should he choose? They both had their merits.

The infant, for instance, was sure to live longer, and if he could corrupt him from an early age, he'd be easier to control. And maybe the kid would be stupid enough to let its guard down and fall asleep.

However, he'd always found children to be annoying. And besides, he probably couldn't risk possessing the kid until he was about 5, or else chances were his host's little body would be too weak to handle it.

On the other hand, the woman's body would be tough enough.

Then again, she was certainly mature enough to have a strong will. Besides, women had a tendency to be more emotional, and their bodies weren't as naturally strong as men's. Therefore, they were generally seen as the weaker gender.

And if there was one thing Shukaku didn't like, it was being considered weak. By anyone. Even some annoying humans.

He suddenly noted the way she had manoeuvred herself in front of the little brat.

He reconsidered, something of a plot entering his mind.

How cruel would it be for a mother to give birth to a child, just to have it snatched away by death?

How awful would it be to know your baby died when it just as easily could have lived?

How could one bear to go through life, harbouring the very thing that killed your newborn before it could take it's first breath?

You _couldn't _bear it, or at least that's what he was hoping, anyway. Maybe he could guilt her into submission, allowing him to take control, at least most of the time.

He smiled sinisterly at her. "I choose _you._"

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Karura gulped, the demon's words echoing in her head.

"For what?" She asked. "What have you chosen me for?"

The sand spirit smirked down at her. "Why _you_, my dear, are the soon-to-be vessel for me."

She glanced behind her quickly. "What about…?" She trailed off.

"Oh, him?" The demon flicked his wrist, as if brushing away an entirely unimportant matter. "He'll be the sacrifice."

_"What?!"_ she squeaked.

Shukaku smiled in sadistic amusement at her. "You mean to say no one's _told_ you?"

The woman shook her head hesitantly. "Oh, my, my," The demon clicked his tongue. "Do you even know what's going _on_ here?" She opened her mouth, but he didn't wait for her reply—it would just be something along the lines of 'Not really…' or 'Told me what?', anyway. "To summon me, two must be sacrificed. One will be killed, and the other becomes my vessel. And it's your lucky day! You're going to _live_!"

Karura felt the blood drain from her face, and knew she was probably as white as a sheet. Judging from the low chuckle from Shukaku, he'd noticed, too.

"You mean you're going to kill him?" She said weakly.

"Correct," he stated in a matter-of-fact voice.

_"No," _she whispered.

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Shukaku rolled his eyes, marvelling at the stupidity of humans.

"You don't seem to understand," he spoke each word slowly, as if talking to someone of limited intelligence. "_You _are going to _live_. Last time I checked, it's a _good_ thing."

The blonde blinked at him with obvious annoyance. Obvious annoyance that was tainted and repressed by fear, of course, but Shukaku was surprised to find she had any backbone at all. "No, I understand that part perfectly," she mimicked his exaggeratedly slow way of speaking. "Crystal clear, in fact. But…" she paused for a moment. "In order for one of us to live, the other would need to die?"

"_Right_," the Shukaku hissed angrily. He knew people could be dumb, but _come on. _"Have we not already established that? You're going to live, he's going to die. It's quite a simple concept. So," he said, preparing himself, "Should we get going?"

Karura sighed tiredly. "What? Go where?"

"Well obviously we aren't going to stick around in this limbo forever. We're going to be that 'ultimate weapon', or whatever. That is what they're after, isn't it?"

"Who?" She was getting tired of him saying nonsensical things and expecting her to understand right off the bat. She felt stupid asking so many questions.

"Whoever decided to go and stick me inside _you_," he snapped. He was getting fed up with it, too. "Now, I'll assume you have no idea how to leave this place. Don't worry; it's pretty easy, I'm sure you'll manage. All it takes is killing the little brat, and then we'll be merged together by the binding jutsu that has hopefully been prepared for us."

"How will we—"

"You haven't left," he explained, already sensing she was going to ask how they would get back. "This is all in your head, or mine, or the kid's. Chances are, you're really in a hospital bed somewhere. You could think of this as a trance, or a delusion of sorts. Once we've become one, you should snap out of it."

The woman stared at the ground silently.

"So," the demon said, smiling cruelly, anticipating her answer. "You'll be the one I'm possessing, then?"

She would, of course, say yes; after all, she was only human. Then, hopefully, she would be overcome by grief and guilt, and he could do whatever he wanted to in his new body.

Suddenly, though, her head snapped up, looking at him in shock. "You mean…you could let him go instead?"

Shukaku stared at her, baffled. Was she serious? "I… suppose… I mean, yes, but then you would have to die so…"

"Done," she said quickly, cutting him off. "Kill me instead."

Shukaku had been confused, and now he was getting angry. That had sounded a _little_ too much like an order.

"This is not _done_," he hissed. "The decision is _mine_, not yours." For good measure, he picked her up with one hand, holding her high above the ground. "Understood?"

Absently the Shukaku noted that, having been separated from its mother, the baby had started crying. 'Great,' he thought. 'A cry-baby_.'_

He could literally _feel_ her shaking, and he smiled. Then she did something unexpected. She met his gaze, and whispered, "Please, _please_ spare him."

Shukaku wasn't without mercy… okay, so yes he was. But if she actually _objected,_ she would be turned into the victim, and then how would his plan work out? She wouldn't feel guilty if she'd fought and pleaded for her baby's life; she'd feel wronged, and want to repress him. She'd be disobedient.

And that wouldn't do at all.

Seconds passed, and then minutes. After a long period of silence, Shukaku reasoned, "Only under certain conditions. Will you abide by them?"

"Name them," she answered. She wasn't dumb enough to agree to deal she didn't even know.

"First of all, I get to name him."

She blinked. She'd been expecting several horrible demands… but that hadn't been one of them. "Name him what?" she asked suspiciously.

He paused, trying to think of an appropriate name. "Gaara."

She winced, but nodded. She should have known better than to think she might get off easy. _Gaara_, meaning a self-loving carnage. Not quite the name she'd had in mind. The poor thing would be cursed by that name for all his life.

She sighed, knowing it would undoubtedly get worse. "Anything else?"

"Hmmm…" Shukaku mused. "Who will take care of the child? His father?"

Laughter erupted from the small woman, and the demon's eyes narrowed. Along with being seen as weak, he wasn't fond of being laughed at. "I'll take that as a no, then?"

Karura snorted. "Definitely not. Probably Yashamaru." When she was met with a quizzical look from Shukaku, she elaborated, "My brother."

"Ah. Tell me; are you and your brother close?"

She looked at him sceptically. "Why…?"

"_Who's _asking the questions here?" He was fed up with her insolence, and he tightened his grip around her to show he meant business. "_Well?_" he prompted.

"Y-yes, we're very close." Her voice shook.

"Good, then. In that case, you need to explain a few things to him for me."

As Shukaku ticked off several lies she was to tell her brother, Karura began to realize what his intentions were. Alright, so maybe they weren't exactly 'lies'. She had thought most of the things he was saying, but he was making it sound like she blamed Gaara for it all!

"Why would I ever say such awful things?" she asked once he had finished. "He won't tell _Gaara_ that!" She couldn't help but spit out the name. "He's far too kind."

"Ah, but he might if he's forced to care for a child that his beloved sister had hated even as it squirmed inside her, one she'd seen as nothing more than her tool for revenge against the country she had been sacrificed for."

"I won't," she stated defiantly.

"Then he dies," replied the beast, and with that he swung a massive arm at the tiny crying Gaara.

_"Stop!!"_ she shrieked, just before he smashed the baby beneath his fist. "I'll do it, I'll tell him!" she cried out, defeated, hanging her head.

"Awww, are those tears that I see?" he cooed in a mock-concerned tone. His claws pinned her arms to her sides, but he felt her try to tug her arms up instinctively to her face, probably to wipe her eyes. He grinned deviously. "If you have any doubts, there _is _still the alternative. You know, he's not even been _born_ yet, no one would miss him…"

Her head snapped up, and she coolly said, "No, thank you. So, how will this work? I thought you said we'd just 'go' once one of us was dead. But if you're going to force me to tell Yashamaru all those things…" She could have slapped herself, and would have, if she could move her arms. Why on God's green earth would she remind him of that? If he'd just forgotten, maybe it wouldn't have been _so_ terrible for her son… but now…

"Hm, good point," the demon said in consideration. "I supposed I could just possess you for a few minutes, enough time to get the message through to what's-his-face."

"You can do that?" Karura asked, surprised. She'd known that demon containers had a tendency to go bloodthirsty and have 'unexplained changes of mood and personality', but she'd always thought it was from the stress on the person's mind.

He gave her a cool look, and retorted with, "What kind of demon would I be if I couldn't handle one little possession? Besides, haven't you noticed that you seem to be 'blacking out' an awful lot lately?"

The blonde looked at him in confusion, beginning to shake her head no, until she remembered that while she couldn't recall loosing her memory (which made sense in itself) she _had_ been loosing track of time easily. She'd just assumed it was crazy-pregnant-lady hormones or something.

Apparently not.

She gaped at him, a few things falling into place. Mysterious deaths had been occurring all around her village, people thought to be missing until they found spatters of blood in some alley, and the DNA matched up. Come to think of it, Yashamaru seemed to always be on edge around her (she had thought out of compassion, but maybe she'd been snapping a lot?) Her daughter and other son, Temari and Kankuro, had been acting a little off around her, too.

"What. Did. You. Do." Her tone suggested he had better answer her, and fast. 'Seems she's forgotten who's in charge, here,' the Shukaku thought, annoyance pumping through him. 'On second thought, maybe this arrangement with the kid will work out better than I anticipated. She seems somewhat… troublesome, to say the least.'

He glared at her, but for once, she ignored it. "Yashamaru, and my children… have you… done anything to them?" She had to choke each word out through the sudden rage coursing through her veins. What if he had hurt them?

Shukaku was certainly getting angry, but he had to admit, he was gaining a little respect for her. Who knew she had a backbone?

"Look, this is beside the point. I haven't done anything _wrong_ to them, if that's what you mean. But even if I had, would it really matter? You're going to die, now, anyway, and all you can worry about is if I was _nice_ to them?

"Well, it's important! I mean, you're sure you haven't done anything?"

"Lady, you sure are lucky that you have to be alive for this whole thing to work out, or I'd have killed you ages ago. Now shut up already! I need to concentrate."

"No I won't shut up! I'm telling you, if you've done anything to harm them I'll… well, I don't know what I could do to you, but I'd find a way!" She was too angry to be all that scared, or to think about what she was saying to the large demon. 'Calm down,' said a quiet voice in the back of her head. '**Shut up!**' screeched another, somewhat less quiet voice in panic. But she wasn't in the mood to listen to her conscious, or her sense of self-preservation, or whatever it was. She needed answers! She needed to know what he had done, she needed…

And then everything went black.

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Okay, wow, I'm pretty excited. This was my first fanfic. I hope it didn't suck too badly. I'm planning on writing a second chapter. Sometime.

Well…I heard somebody say something like "Well, you hear about mothers begging people to take their lives in place of their children's…" and it just sort of rolled on from there.

Also, I'm pro 'somebody-in-Gaara's-family-NOT-hating-his-guts', because I think he's awesome and deserves a little love. So, anyway…

You know who I like? Shukaku.

….

I know. But he is **so much fun **to write! I mean, first of all, it's just so easy. I mean, who _can't_ write psychopathic bloodthirsty murderer? (No offence if you can't or anything.) And everytime I write him saying something horrible and mean, it makes me feel happy. ( I'm not sadistic, I swear! D: )

Review? Please? Even to tell me I should never write again? I'll take whatever I can get.

Feel free to point out my mistakes. (Or flame, if you must.)


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